Lord Shiva is one of the prominent Hindu gods and one of the "trimurti" (holy trinity) of the Hindu pantheon. Symbolism has found its way since the start of the Vedic following. As one of the holy trinity,Shiva has many symbols that are associated with him. Whenever we find these elements, we immediately think of the Lord himself. Here are the symbols of Lord Shiva:
The Shiv Ling - In most temples, you will not see a murti of Lord Shiva. What you see instead is a black or dark grey shivling. It is perpendicular stone that represents the essence of Lord Shiva.
Crescent Moon - Shiva Tattva is where there is no mind and the moon signifies the mind. When there is no mind then how can this ‘no mindedness’ be expressed? You need a little bit of the mind to understand, experience and to express. The no-mind, infinite consciousness requires that little bit of mind to express itself in the manifest world. So, to express that inexpressible,that little mind (crescent moon) is on Shiva’s head. Wisdom is beyond the mind,but it needs to be expressed with a tinge of mind and this is symbolized by the crescent moon.
River Ganga - Ganga means knowledge; knowledge that purifies your soul. Head is always the symbol of knowledge. Heart is the symbol of love. If Ganga were to be love, it should have come out of the heart of Lord Shiva. It is coming out of the head, because it simply means knowledge.Knowledge is liberating, knowledge brings freedom, knowledge is purifying. All these are the characteristics of knowledge. Knowledge is also movement; motion. So Ganga (knowledge) has to come out of Lord Shiva’s (the divinity’s) head.
Damru - Shivais deeply associated with the damru which is a tiny drum-like instrument. When Shiva is taken over by artistic exuberance, He dances to the beats of the damru.
The Serpent - A snake is also very sensitive to certain energies. Shiva has the snake around his throat. It is not just symbolic. There is a whole lot of science behind it. There are 114 chakras in the energy body. Out of these 114, people are usually talking about the 7 fundamental chakras in the system. Among these seven fundamental ones,the vishuddhi chakra is located in the pit of your throat. This particular chakra is very strongly associated with the snake. The vishuddhi is about stopping poison, and a snake carries poison. All these things are connected.
Third Eye - In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Lord Shiva is depicted as a three-eyed God.Hence, he is often referred to as Tryambaka Deva, meaning "three-eyed Lord". The sun is said to be his right eye, the moon the left eye while fire is his third eye. While his other two eyes indicate his activity in the physical world, his third eye in the center of his forehead looks beyond the obvious. It stands for spiritual knowledge and power, and is thus called the eye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, the powerful gaze of Shiva's third eye can search evil from anywhere and annihilate it completely. This is the reason why evil-doers fear his third eye.
Blue Body - Blue means infinite, like the sky. Blue signifies the all-pervading Infinity which has no limits. It has no shape. Shiva does not have a body. Shiva was never a person at all. To symbolize the unfathomable, the infinite Divinity and to make that Divinity comprehensible to people, ancient rishis made a form. Knowledge has no shape but it infiltrates each and every particle of the universe. The whole world is filled with Shiva, whose body is in the whole universe.
The Bull - Nandi, the name of the Bull, known as the vehicle (vahana) of Lord Shiva is the symbol of power, patience, consciousness and removal of ignorance. Lord Shiva riding on bull represents when you are righteous, the sense of consciousness bestows upon you and helps you in gaining patience and removing ignorance. The trait of patience if imbibed will help the person to improve on his ability to wait quietly for things to happen in their own time. On the other hand, impatience leads to wrong decisions and irrational behavior.
Trishul - Trishul or trident represents the three aspects of consciousness — waking, dreaming and sleeping, and it represents the three gunas — sattva, rajas and tamas. Holding a trishul signifies that Shiva, Divinity, is above all the three states —waking, dreaming and sleeping; yet is the upholder of these three states. Divinity is beyond the three gunas, but it holds the three gunas together. Shul means problems or suffering. Trishul means that which destroys all kinds of suffering.
Shiva Tandav - The whole creation is the dance of one consciousness (Shiva). The one consciousness danced and manifested into a million species in the world. So this infinite creation is the dance of Lord Shiva or Shiva Tandav. The whole world is a place of Shiva..